Tips on How to Prepare Your Pets for Big Changes

In case you are a pet lover, these recommendations will be extremely useful for you and your family. Max Polyakov and Amelia lived an ordinary life with their fifteen animals at home. They are pet lovers and wanted to share their feelings with somebody else. That’s why their house became a native home for cats, parrots, dogs, and hamsters. They thought that everything will be Ok when Amelia got pregnant. The family started preparing for great changes immediately but one of their little friends wasn’t ready to share love of its masters with a human being. When Amelia gave birth to their little baby girl the dog’s behavior changed. They couldn’t understand what’s happening but things got worse and worse. Max Polyakov’s Eos couldn’t accept the fact that owners can’t give her more attention. The dog started being jealous and even dangerous for the baby. They had to do something about it and decided to give Max Polyakov’s lovely pet Eos to other people who loved pets as they did.

Start Preparations Before a Baby is here

Max Polyakov willingly shares his experience and says that you have to train your pet well before starting preparing it for a baby to arrive. It has to know the most common commands. Besides, pets improve their social skills while they are training. Animals don’t panic in unusual situations and learn how to interact with people. Moreover, they find out how to behave themselves towards other pets.

Trained animals feel more confident and don’t get nervous in the presence of strangers or in a street. Their life becomes easier in comparison with other animals. Such pets understand you better and you can teach them what they are allowed to do.

If you want to feel a real connection with your animal, start training it every day. It can be set by spending more time together. You have many convenient moments to learn a pet’s character, what it likes and dislikes. An animal will also look at your behavior and analyze your reactions. You will trust and respect each other just as if you are old friends. The training process will help you to prepare a pet for a baby to come successfully.

An animal feels happy, if you take it for a walk, travel together or visit other people. It understands that you accept it as a part of your own life. And a pet will answer you with love and obedience. Moreover, you will be happier too because a connection between a master and his animal can’t be compared to anything. And trained pets learn to accept new members of a family easily. You won’t have such problems as Max Polyakov’s Eos had.

First Preparations

A baby’s arrival is always connected with huge changes. Max Polyakov says that you should start all preparations in the period of pregnancy or even earlier. You will have time to train your pets well enough to accept a new member of a family. Besides, animals are very sensitive to different changes. They like their little worlds where they feel comfortable. That’s why you have to take care of their well-being and proper preparations.

First of all, you will have to arrange a special place for your pet. It can be any room in your house, a dog crate or a tall shelf for a kitty. You have to be sure that nothing will disturb your animal there: neither noise nor child. Otherwise, a pet will be nervous and feel uncomfortable. Arrange some kind of a nest there: put animal’s favorite toys, water, and food bowls etc. It will be a place where your pet can hide from all irritators in the world. An animal will know that this spot belongs to it and no one has a right to cross the borders of this territory.

Another useful recommendation is about sensitiveness and touches. Children are very curious, they always want to play with animals, hug and tease them. That’s why you have to prepare your pet for such situations. Otherwise, it will scratch or even bite a kid. Start with soft touches including such areas: paws, tail, face, ears, back and other delicate parts of an animal body. A pet will get used to such a behavior and won’t get nervous when a baby does it. But in case an animal doesn’t want you to do touch it, make this process more comfortable. Touch it while it’s eating or playing. A pet will think that such things are connected with something funny and pleasant. Practice all the time during two-five minutes a few sessions per day.

A baby comes with new rules to your house. Prepare your pets for these changes slightly, without stressful feelings.

Lower the Level of Attention

In case your pet got used to regular attention from your side, you will have to start ignoring it from time to time. It will help to prevent undesired jealousy and an animal won’t feel abandoned. Just start spending less time with it and an animal will start to look for some other activities. It will become more independent. If you are carrying a baby, ask your husband to play with your pet and train it. In this case, you will just change positions. An animal will get used to spending time with another master.

Max Polyakov wants everybody to notice that pets which have never interacted with children should be acquainted with them. Just start inviting friends with kids to your house from time to time. Watch the behavior of your pet and notice what has to be changed.

Making Bad Habits to Go Away

You have to destroy all bad habits of your animal. It shouldn’t jump, sleep in a child’s bed, scratch, make noise, leap on your lap etc. Train it well and you’ll get a good animal with pleasant manners.

You have to check a pet’s health before a baby arrives. Ask an animal expert to check its conditions and take care of all vaccinations. And don’t forget to ask someone to take care of your pet on the period you will be at the hospital while giving a birth to a baby.

General Recommendations

Create a feeding and training schedule for your pet. You don’t have to change them when a baby is here, so, start preparing it during your pregnancy;

You will have to talk to a trainer in case your animal doesn’t respond to basic commands. Check if it knows how to fulfill such exercises as “sit”, “come”, “stand”, “go”;

Cut the claws of your kitty in case it’s necessary;

You should analyze how your pet acts among children. Does it change its behavior? Is it scared or angry about something? Is it nervous or calm? Notice all those things and think about what should be changed;

You arrange your house with new furniture while you’re waiting for a child. You should let a pet explore everything and get used to new smells;

Don’t let your animal occupy your baby’s bed;

Prepare a container for dirty diapers. Pets shouldn’t reach for the source of a new smell. You know that all animals like to explore new odors. Don’t let them make a mess in your house;

Arrange a perfect place of tranquility for your pet. Everybody should respect its private territory, and even a child has to keep away from it.

What to Do if You can’t Cope with Training

If nothing worked, you have to ask some trainer to help you. Max Polyakov is pretty sure that such situations should be fixed on the earliest terms of pregnancy. Sometimes pets are even violent towards masters when they are only waiting for a baby. That’s why you have to find an expert who will make your animal calm and obedient.

Professional pet trainers and veterinarians can help you cope with bad behaviors. An expert can even make a test and determine how an animal will act when a baby arrives. He will decide which program is the most appropriate one for your pet.

Teach your animal all general commands before it starts training with an expert. It has to know when to run, sit, stand, go and come. And an expert will only adjust all those skills. He will help to refuse from undesired habits and teach an animal how to get used to different smells.

If you aren’t acquainted with any trainers, it’s not a big deal! Join various pet-lover groups and find out where to get a professional expert. People will definitely advise you the best pet coaches. You’ll have to analyze their programs and choose the most appropriate one.

There are also many online training sources on the Internet. You can find a professional coach on one of those websites. Max Polyakov recommends reading books containing information on how to prepare your per for a baby to arrive. A professional literature has many advices on that question.

You have to start preparations on the earliest terms but you don’t have to give up even if it seems to be too late for training. It’s also better to work with younger pets but older ones will remember your commands too. Just don’t miss a moment when you can transform your animal into a real friend for your child.

How to Make Your House Comfortable

Max Polyakov says that it’s necessary to make your house friendlier when you’re expecting a child. Don’t forget to think of questions which include safeness of your home:

Curtain cords should be somewhere far away from a baby. They are too dangerous for children.Buy some cord devices and you will be sure that your kid is protected from undesired situations;

Limit the access to stairs. Set some gates which won’t let your child cross a dangerous border;

Chemicals should be hidden from a kid. Children are curious about all the things in a house. Put all the cleansers away to be sure that a kid won’t drink or eat something poisonous;

Electricity matters should be taken into account as well. Prepare power point covers and plugs, and don’t forget to hide all cables away from a child.

Prepare the Entire Space for a Baby

Think well and answer the question: ”Where in the house I spend more time?” And then start preparing a special play zone for your baby. It should be an observable place which can be seen from your common space of main activities. It can be a kitchen, cabinet or another room in a house.

You will have to décor your home practicably. Put away all the unnecessary items and clean a space for a baby. A child shouldn’t reach for something dangerous or break some statuettes. If you have some official documents or things in your house, hide them in some unreachable place.

Everything should be simple at your home. Parents must be sure that their child is protected in their house and nothing happens in case there are in another room. All the unnecessary things have to be hidden from a baby.

How to Avoid Noise

You know that the noise will follow you whenever you go inside the house when a baby arrives. But you can lower its level with the help of simple changes:

Buy a thick carpet or even few. This simple thing will be a decoration for your home and a wonderful noise absorber;

Thick curtains may save the situation too;

Bookshelves with books will protect the house from spreading of different sounds further than its borders.

Max Polyakov is sure that early preparations may solve many undesirable problems in future. You will be able to acquaint your new baby with pets and a house without any unpleasant situations. So, don’t miss the moment and start preparing your home and family for changes in the early period of pregnancy.